Chips are down for artificial intelligence

The age of artificial intelligence (AI) was widely proclaimed in 2017 when Google's AlphaGo program comprehensively defeated Ke Jie, world champion player of Go, the complex Chinese board game. Since then the excitement has ebbed as Washington and Beijing fought a trade war, and China's start-up funding dipped in part because the original AI hype lost its shine. This raises the question of whether AI -- defined as algorithms that mimic human intelligence -- can deliver on its potential, and when. The answer is crucial because AI could become the ultimate industry disrupter, threatening tens of millions of jobs in Asia as business processes are automated. In addition, AI is the subject of intense rivalry between the US and China.